Mine-anchor.



G. R. GABRIEL.

MINE ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1910.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

a sums-sum 1.

By A ztomeys,

f WITNESSES:

G. R. GABRIEL;

' MINE ANCHOR.

APPLICATION IILBD JUNE-10,1910.

1,023,832, Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

5 8HEETBSHEET 2.

. Q v I'Ik S III S\ INVENTOR m f @M G 5 4 G. R. GABRIEL.

MINE ANCHOR.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNEIO, 1910.

1,023,832, r v Patented A rtzs, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR WITNESSES By Aftomeys,

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G. R. GABRIEL.

MINE ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1910.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

5 SHEETSSHEET 4.

INVENTOR By A zzowzeys, M

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO. WASHINGTON. D- C.

WITNESSES:

O. R. GABRIEL.

MINE ANCHOR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1910.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

7171/07/73 llllll INVENTOR & E S S E N W. W

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH pnrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. GABRIEL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO E. W. BLISS COMPANY,OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

MINE-ANCHOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

Application filed June 10,1910. Serial No. 566,233.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES R. GABRLEL, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in(Mine-Anchors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention. relates to automatically operating moorings forsubmarine mines, fixed buoys or like devices.

The mooring anchor is of the same general character as that set forth inmy Patent No. 947 ,230, granted January 25, 1910.

The present invention is designed to improve the practical working ofautomatic mine anchors so as to facilitate the launching of the minesand provide against submerging the mine to a depth other than thatpredetermined.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a side elevation of a mineanchor and appurtenances embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is avertical mid-section through the grip mechanism. Fig. 3 is a frontelevation thereof, the operating lever being in section. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section in the plane of the line H in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is aside elevation partly in vertical section in the plane of the line 55 inFig. 4. Fig. 6 shows the gripping rollers removed, viewed in the samedirection as in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a vertical mid-section of a modifiedconstruction. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section thereof in the plane of theline 88, and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary cross-section. Fig. 10 is asomewhat diagrammatic view on a reduced scale showing the mine anchorand appurtenances during the launching or planting operation.

Referring to the drawings, let A designate the buoy, mine or torpedoshown only in Fig. 10, B the anchor, C the mooringcable, D the plummet,E the sounding line, F the grip-operating lever, and G the casingcontaining the gripping mechanism. In general, and except as to thefeatures hereinafter pointed out, these parts are similar to thecorresponding parts in my said previous patent.

The construction shown in Figs. 2 to 6 inelusive will first bedescribed.

The gripping mechanism may consist of any suitable means for graspingand hold-.

ing the cable when this mechanism is rendered operative by the plummet Dstriking bottom so as to relieve the lever F of its weight. Theparticular gripping mechanism shown comprises gripping jaws J J formedas eccentric portions upon oscillatory shafts K K which are connectedtogether so that they oscillate in unison. Each of the shafts K has ahub or enlargement formed with gear teeth a a so that the hubsconstitute sectors which mesh together as best shown in Fig. 5. With oneof them meshes a toothed rack M formed on a plunger M which is movablevertically in a cylindrical bore or cavity P formed in the casing G, andis pressed by a spring Qin such direction as to tend to turn the jaws sothat they shall grasp the cable. The plunger is best constructed as ahollow shell, the spring Q be ing seated within it; for compactness theplunger is made eccentrically so as to leave a thicker portion on theside on which the rack M is formed, as shown in Fig. 4. Its lowerportion is made concentrically with its interior chamber and works inthe bore P which is eccentrically counter-bored at the top, and itsupperend is closed by a screw plug P which receives the upward reactionof the spring Q. 011 the hub of one of the jaws is fixed the operatinglever F, the free end of which is connected to the sounding line E sothat the weight of the plummet D pulls down on this lever and holds itinitially in the position shown, where it is stopped by the spacingpiece cl abutting against the top of the anchor (Fig. 1). The lever Fmay be forged to one of the shafts K, or otherwise united thereto in anysuitable manner. The shafts K K are best seated directly in transverseholes bored through the casing Gr, and are held against endwisedisplacement by a screw pin or key which enters coinciding grooves inthe shafts as best shown in Fig. 6.

To prevent premature operation I employ the hydrostatic safety deviceset forth in my prior patent, which comprises a diaphragm B -(Fig. 2) onone side of which is an air chamber T, the diaphragm being connected onits opposite side to a latch V which has a shoulder or projectionengaging a shoul-' der formed in one of the aws J. Thus the jaws areinitially locked and remain so until as the anchor descends thehydrostatic pressure so far overcomes the pressure of air in the chamberT as to displace the diaphragm and withdraw the latch V.

In my prior construction the mooring cable C was passed verticallythrough the grip casing and anchor and the spring Q was seated in achamber counterbored in the anchor itself. To prevent the too free orrapid descent of the anchor a friction brake was provided to exert aslight gripping action upon the cable as the latter runs through it byreason of the descent of the anchor. That construction necessitated thatthe anchor should be cast or formed with the necessary holes andpassages, or in the case of applying the invention to an anchor alreadyin use, necessitated that the necessary holes and chamber be formed byboring and counterboring. My present invention avoids the expense ofthis and dispenses with the friction brake besides introducing otheradvantages as will be explained. By my present invention, instead ofpassing the mooring cable vertically through the anchor, I so constructthe apparatus that this cable does not pass through the anchor at all,but passes only through the shell or casing of the grip mechanism andthis it traverses horizontally instead of vertically. The normallyvertical cable is bent so as to enter the flaring mouth-piece or eye ofa throat-piece or bushing b which centers it and directs it between thegripping rolls or jaws J J, and the cable then passes through anothereye 0. When the weight of the anchor is thrown upon the cable inlaunching it draws the cable into the curve of the throat-piece b, asshown in Fig. 2, thereby giving the cable a somewhat sharp bend wherebyis generated sutficient friction to suitably retard the descent of theanchor so that no other friction brake is necessary. The grip casing Gis best fastened to the anchor 13 in such position that the ascendingportion of the cable C shall be out of center with the anchor so thatthe center of gravity of the anchor, being to one side of the cable,will cause the anchor to assume an inclined position, as shown in Figs.1 and 5, which facilitates its descent. Since the free end of the cabledoes not pass through and hang beneath the anchor as heretofore, butextends off in lateraldirection, as shown in Figs. 1 and 10, it ispracticable to support this free end or spare portion of the cable at ahigher level than. the anchor and so that it cannot pass foul with theanchor or any appurtenant parts. This may be done by paying off thisspare portion from the launching vessel in proportion as the descent ofthe anchor draws it down; or a small line may be attached to it for thispurpose and paid out from the vessel; or, preferably, a small float Wmay be attached to the end of the cable, being sufliciently buoyant tosustain the weight of the cable and yet not afford any materialresistance to the drawing-down of the cable as it is pulled by thedescent of the anchor. The cable will of course be cut originally to alength proportional to the depth of the sounding and so that there willstill be some margin of slack cable at the instant when the gripoperates to attach the anchor to the cable.

All the parts of the structure embodying my present invention arecontained in the one shell or casing G which is fastened in any suitablemanner to the anchor B, preferably by three screws or bolts passingthrough the bolt holes 6 e, as shown in Fig. 4. The anchor requires noother machining or preparation than the drilling and tapping of the boltholes for these screws. The housing for the rack M, slide M and spring Qare thus formed entirely within the casing G. The cap or dome Sinclosing the diaphragm chamber T is arranged on the top of the casinginstead of at one side thereof. For conveniently lifting the anchor aneye U is provided, being best constructed by casting it in one piecewith the cap S.

' An important advantage of my invention lies in the increased facilitywhich it affords for the launching of the mine anchor. These anchors arevery heavy and as the launching is performed usually from a steamboat itis desirable to be able to conveniently apply the cable to the anchor onshipboard. WVith my present invention this can be done bysimplythreading the cable through the horizontal passage designed for it inthe grip casing and without the necessity of lifting the anchor as wouldbe necessary if the cable had to be passed Vertically through the.anchor. When the anchor is launched the plummet is necessarily thrownoverboard at the same time or previously, so that it may hang beneaththe anchor and if the cable were to pass through the anchor asheretofore there would be liability of its fouling with the soundingline; but by gripping the spare portion of cable entirely above theanchor while the sounding line hangs beneath the anchor, this liabilityis entirely avoided. The mechanism is also simplified by the omission ofthe brake and is cheapened by being self-contained so that no machiningor preparation of the anchor is required.

My invention is not limited to the precise details of constructionherein set forth, being susceptible of such variation as may be withinthe skill of the mechanic or engineer.

My invention is not limited to the anchoring of mines but is applicableto buoys or other devices that may be required to be moored at aprescribed depth.

A modified construction is shown in Figs.

7, 8 and 9. In this construction the same general arrangement of thegripping jaws J J with the cable passing horizontally between them fromeye 6 to eye 0 and with the diaphragm R above the gripping rolls, isretained; but instead of gearing the gripping rolls directly to eachother they are geared each to a double rack M and this is arranged tomove horizontally instead of vertically, its plunger M being made hollowso that the cable passes through it as clearly shown. The latch V isconstructed as a pivoted dog jointed to the diaphragm R. The eyes I) 0are formed in separate bushings 6 and 7 which are fastened by screws tothe casing or shell G. The construction thus shown is considered lessdesirable than that first described.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of an anchor, mooring cableand grip mechanism, the latter having a transverse passage through whichthe cable may play as the anchor descends, and having an eye for thecable arranged to one side of the center of gravity of the anchor,whereby, during launching, the anchor is presented obliquely tofacilitate its descent.

2. The combination of an anchor, a grip mechanism applied thereon havingan opening transversely therethrough, and a mooring cable passingthrough said opening, and means applied to the slack of said cable forkeeping it above the anchor.

3. The combination with an anchor of a grip casing, having a transversepassage therethrough for the mooring cable above the anchor, grippingjaws therein, a slide movable in said casing and adapted to engage andoperate said jaws, and a spring seated wholly in said casing for movingsaid slide whereby the casing and gripping mechanism are distinct fromthe anchor.

4. The combination of a grip casing, oscillatory shafts seated thereingeared together, and formed with gripping jaws, and a key engaginggrooves in said shafts to prevent endwise displacement thereof.

5. The combination of a grip casing, oscillatory gripping jaws mountedtherein formed with intermeshing gear teeth, a sliding tubular plungerhaving rack teeth meshing with the gear teeth on one jaw for turningsaid jaws. and a spring housed within said plunger.

61 The combination of a grip casing, of oscillatory shafts seatedtherein having gripping jaws and formed with gear teeth, a slidingplunger moving in a socket formed in said casing having rack teethmeshing with said gear teeth, a cap closing said socket and a springwithin said plunger reacting against said cap.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES R. GABRIEL.

Witnesses:

FRED L. COLWELL, J r., G. GRAHAM BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

